I liked the first 100 or so pages. It was heartbreaking but beautiful and readable in a really sad way. Once the "story," if you can call it that, begI liked the first 100 or so pages. It was heartbreaking but beautiful and readable in a really sad way. Once the "story," if you can call it that, began, it stopped working for me. I couldn't keep the characters straight and regretted not listening to it on audio so the different voices would help me.
What a nation of immigrants did to the natives of the US was abhorrent. The cycle of addiction and abuse that continues because of past trauma will make your grateful for your beautiful mess of a life. But I'm not sure what the author was trying to do with the ending besides saying, "Yo did you know this country is fucked up." I mean look around us. We know....more
This was fine. Very 2000s, a bit racist, a bit sexist. The only women are either the stupid sexy hot redhead or shapeless administrators, evil in a "bThis was fine. Very 2000s, a bit racist, a bit sexist. The only women are either the stupid sexy hot redhead or shapeless administrators, evil in a "banality of evil" kind of way.
My favorite part is that there are demons that lurk at the bottom of the Mandelbrot set. I literally can't look at the Mandelbrot set image thing, I fucking hate it. I just Googled it to see if calling it "the Mandelbrot set" is what you actually call the image, which required looking at the image, and I FUCKING HATE IT! It's THE WORST THING!
Otherwise, it was very "Office Space but with demons," so there was a lot of corporate jargon which was almost funny but didn't quite get there. Also occult Nazis and technopagans. Maybe it was more groundbreaking when it first came out.
The main character man-splained constantly and was an expert in literally everything....more
Really enjoyed the first third and laughed out loud several times, but the humor wore thin after a while, and then it rubbed wrong (my shelf "testosteReally enjoyed the first third and laughed out loud several times, but the humor wore thin after a while, and then it rubbed wrong (my shelf "testosterone overload" is not usually a compliment).
I generally enjoy the first book of any given LitRPG but find the series overly long. Like the title suggests, this is a dungeon crawl, and by the time we were fighting the 7th or 8th boss I was bored and ready for something new. There are 5 more books in the series (as of now) but I think I'm good.
Did it on audio because Reddit will not shut up about how good the audiobook is, and you know what? They are right! The audiobook is highly produced and a pleasure to listen to....more
I actually really enjoyed the first 20 pages or so, with a high-stakes pizza delivery. It was funny and charming and I was looking forward to reading I actually really enjoyed the first 20 pages or so, with a high-stakes pizza delivery. It was funny and charming and I was looking forward to reading more; it reminded me of Infinite Jest. There would be more about the story that would remind me of Infinite Jest before the book was over, but that book is considered a masterpiece and Snow Crash is argued about on the internet about whether it's a parody or not.
The enjoyment stopped soon after that. It felt like reading r/atheism. Every page, every sentence, was convinced of its importance to the world. It felt overwritten, overproduced, and still, like every single Neal Stephenson book I have read thus far, couldn't manage to have a goddamn good ending.
Plus, a 15-year-old girl is highly sexualized and has sex with an adult and it's played for laughs.
Please see my review for Seveneves for the ultimate Neal Stephenson reading instructions....more
Waffling hard between 2 and 3 but I think I'll go with 2 stars.
It had promise for the first act. There was a long period in my life where languages weWaffling hard between 2 and 3 but I think I'll go with 2 stars.
It had promise for the first act. There was a long period in my life where languages were everything to me, and I collected them like trading cards. I loved the little linguistic asides, the comparisons of words between two languages, how meanings differ. I've always found the theory that the language we know shapes how we see the world so interesting, and I thought this book might be going places with that idea.
Even with the repetition, the milquetoast relationships, the one-dimensional characters, I was ready to be dazzled with some linguistic ingenuity.
It fell off a cliff at the 60% mark. This is the narrative we're going with? Someone should have told her to go back to this point, change that one decision, and rewrite the book. This was the wrong choice. The last 40% all spooled out because of that one thing and it did not work for me. I was glad it was over....more
I've been looking forward to this since I turned the last page of Children of Ruin, which I absolutely loved.
I was remindMaaaaaan.
I'm so disappointed.
I've been looking forward to this since I turned the last page of Children of Ruin, which I absolutely loved.
I was reminded of 4 or 5 different Star Trek episodes, both TNG and Voyager, as the story went on. That's not necessarily a bad thing - there are a lot of great ideas in Star Trek that could be expanded upon. By the end, perhaps that expansion happened, but while muddling through it all I could think was, "I've seen this episode before."
It fell victim to one of my least favorite writing ticks - I call it "topsy-turvy" writing. These aren't quotes, but just to give you an idea of the type of writing I'm talking about:
It was exactly this way, except it wasn't.
It flew gracefully, exactly the way a brick doesn't.
She thought she had seen something similar before, but not this. Something different, but the same.
The only person who makes topsy-turvy writing work is Douglas Adams and anywhere else it is sure to drive me absolutely bonkers (see also: The Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire).
Lots of repetition, little meaning, and I was annoyed for the majority of the book.
Dang. DANG! I'm sure this was hard to write. This is no entry-level sci-fi novel. This took hard work and frustration, I am sure of it. After loving books 1 and 2, I thought for sure book 3 would be for me. We just did not jive....more
I'm sad this didn't work for me. The characters were flat, the writing was explain-y, the world uninteresting. I've heard great things about the complI'm sad this didn't work for me. The characters were flat, the writing was explain-y, the world uninteresting. I've heard great things about the complete trilogy but someone will have to convince me it's worth it....more
The general consensus at book club was, "the first collection was better." It's gotta be rough as an author to have that be the thought. Is he doomed The general consensus at book club was, "the first collection was better." It's gotta be rough as an author to have that be the thought. Is he doomed to forever live in Arrival's shadow? I mean geez.
(But goddamn was that a good movie!)
I was annoyed at how condescending this collection was. Every short story had to very carefully explain the concepts to me, the inept reader. Very telling and not showing, my ultimate pet peeve. It seemed like he needed an extra year to edit.
Definitely read Stories of Your Life and Others. Maybe pick this one up because it was a bestseller and lots of people have read it. But lower your expectations....more
Such a strange and wonderful little book. I don't feel like anything has ever come close to capturing the beauty and simplicity of this novel, especiaSuch a strange and wonderful little book. I don't feel like anything has ever come close to capturing the beauty and simplicity of this novel, especially since it's good for all ages. This is a reread, time number...4 maybe? I'm not sure. I know I read it for the first time in my middle school book club, 25 years ago.
Peter Capaldi was absolutely awesome as the narrator. All his voices were distinguished. I especially liked the voice for Kehaar and a very tiny bit in one of the El-Ahraiah stories where there's a hedgehog singing at the moon. I burst out laughing at that brief performance.
My brother once told me that after Finding Nemo came out, the sales of clownfish went through the roof. Hello little children, did you watch that movie? That's the opposite of what you're supposed to do. But we are but humans and many of us find a deep love for animals. For myself here, I suddenly found a desire to keep rabbits, before remembering that is in fact the opposite of what the book is saying. Although the captivity is shown in many different ways, I don't think the moral of the story was supposed to be, "Go get yourself a rabbit." I bet it has contributed to many poor rabbit purchases over the years, though.
This was the book that originated my love of "bookends." The first line of it is, “The primroses were over.” The last line is, "...where the first primroses were beginning to bloom.” I love it so much.
I have not seen either of the movies based on this book, the classic 70s animated horror film so many people point at for nightmares, and not the newer Netflix adaptation either. Perhaps now is the time....more
In some ways, a 2-star rating from me is almost worse than a 1-star. The thing about a 1-star book, based on mTwo Iain M Banks. Two swings and misses.
In some ways, a 2-star rating from me is almost worse than a 1-star. The thing about a 1-star book, based on my own internal rating system, is that it did something to make me mad. It stirred up an emotion, albeit negative. 2-star books are books that I didn't like, but they didn't even stir up enough emotion for me to get feisty about my opinion. I'm just shrugging into the keyboard. There wasn't anything here I liked, but nothing that actively insulted me either. It was just boring.
It was aggressively male which is not usually a mark in a book's favor. Lots of uses of the word "Fuck," even from alien species. Several women die - and I don't mean just die, I mean they are fridged. Their deaths are to give our hero a reason to hero. And even then, they are the merest blip on his radar. It's hardly even accurate to say they were fridged, because our hero is like "Whelp, she's dead. So as I was saying..."
The mystery at the center of the story was almost interesting by the time we actually got to it, but the whole invasion and just everything felt like a complete waste of time and space (lol) because of it. The whole book felt pointless....more
I saw something on Reddit once that was something like, "You're in elementary school in America. Choose one: dinosaurs, Greek myths, Egypt."
I dabbled I saw something on Reddit once that was something like, "You're in elementary school in America. Choose one: dinosaurs, Greek myths, Egypt."
I dabbled in all three as I'm sure we all did, because they're all AWESOME, but Greek myths would always stand out as my favorite. Why do these things grab us? I would go on to be a huge fan of fantasy worldbuilding, so something about this early experience was formative to me. Or perhaps I love Greek myths because I already had a penchant for fantasy worldbuilding. Who's to say.
It was my brother, a high school Latin teacher, who originally recommended this book to me. I asked him which format, as we both read and listen to books in equal measure, and he eloquently suggested, "Why not both?" The paper version doubles as an art history lesson, he explained, with a bunch of classical paintings depicting the myths. But he eventually decided you really had to go with audio as Stephen Fry's narration is not to be missed. My brother also explained that you can tell how much Stephen Fry loves these stories, it comes across in every part of the book, which makes it not just entertaining but quite lovely.
I agree with that - the narration was not only top-notch, but it was also wryly humorous, with little bits of Stephen Fry sprinkled throughout. I especially appreciated one little aside where he said, "I played this character once. To reviews! That's...all I'll say on the subject."
The origination of the gods was lovely to listen to and felt very approachable. But after a while, it got to be a bit much. I think it needed to be shorter. Around hour 10 I started to lose track, and there were still 5 hours to go.
I especially enjoyed the unexpected etymology lessons sprinkled throughout. I was shocked at some of them actually! (especially phonetical came from Phoenicia. MIND BLOWN).
I have the next two in the series in hardcover and after looking at the table of contents for Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures, I think it will be much easier to digest. There were only five or so heroes I believe, versus in this book there must've been one hundred myths and as many characters....more
Oddly enough, I started reading this book just after going spelunking. And not just any spelunking, it involved swimming. In the cave. In the dark. AnOddly enough, I started reading this book just after going spelunking. And not just any spelunking, it involved swimming. In the cave. In the dark. And human sacrifices (it was a Mayan cave). And bats and crabs and other crawly things. So I feel like I was uniquely ready to read about the horrors of caving, watching as my party disappeared around a corner and immediately feeling completely alone and stranded.
Unfortunately, it committed the greatest of sins you can against me as a reader - it was boring. Endless walls will be climbed. You will know exactly how many batteries she has. Exactly how many feet of rope are left. Exactly how many days it takes to get from Camp 4 to 5 to 6 and back. It had so much detail about the physical aspect of the cave that when something scary did happen, I could not care. I just wanted her to get on with it already.
Perhaps it would have been scarier on paper. On audio, the horror did not come across.
There is almost endless speculation on the part of our main character, Gyre, and that is something else I can't stand: when exposition happens in the form of questions. I would love to know how many question marks were in this book. Also how many times the word "If" came up. So much wasted time spent speculating. I guess that is important...MAYBE...if your book is a character study, but this was not anywhere close to that. It was a YA love story, with nowhere near the depth needed to have meaning beyond that.
I needed more payoff for the amount of time it took to get there....more
I have to break with the slew of 5-star reviews. This one didn't work for me. I was chatting with a friend of mine about a completely different authorI have to break with the slew of 5-star reviews. This one didn't work for me. I was chatting with a friend of mine about a completely different author and he said, "His sentences crackle." Having just finished The Mountain in the Sea, I immediately thought of it and how hard it did not crackle. I would read a page and have to reread it because my mind had wandered. I was bored.
Of all countries, Tibet is the technological powerhouse??? How??
I did kind of sickeningly like the storyline on the slave ship. It seemed very plausible and gruesome and sad. There was some throwaway line about raping the ocean for protein and I was like Oh...ummm. Well I guess we are doing that, aren't we. Upon reflection, I think that storyline had the most emotions to connect with, whereas everything else left me flat....more
Every page was exhausting, every sentence full of beautiful imagery with no reason behind it.I think I'm too American for this.
God that is depressing.
Every page was exhausting, every sentence full of beautiful imagery with no reason behind it. I could figure out which character was which after a while but I didn't care about them.
I have long had the first line memorized because I had the bizarre hobby where I memorized a bunch of famous first lines from novels. It is an awesome line. The last few lines were equally awesome. Like, REALLY good. But man I hated the intervening 400 pages. It felt like it would be better on a reread, and I wanted to have already read it so I could be reading it again instead....more
After reading all the reviews about how "sweet" and "wholesome" this was I was totally ready to be the neighborhood curmudgeon. I mean, c'mon. Orcs anAfter reading all the reviews about how "sweet" and "wholesome" this was I was totally ready to be the neighborhood curmudgeon. I mean, c'mon. Orcs and cinnamon rolls? Dire cats and carpentry? Get outta here!
Well, I guess I'm here to say I was won over, just like everyone else. Goddamnit.
The stakes have never been lower than "Will our heroes get their coffee shipment on time?" But I'll be damned if I didn't want our intrepid coffee shop to survive the harsh gnomish realities of frothing milk without AC.
An excellent palette cleanser.
Oh, and please know that you WILL need a pastry after making it about halfway through....more
What would you call this? Literary fantasy? I'm normally pretty "up" on what is going on in fantasy circles but I had never heard of this book, or itsWhat would you call this? Literary fantasy? I'm normally pretty "up" on what is going on in fantasy circles but I had never heard of this book, or its author. (Of course, she has done several short story collections, so maybe I'm not as "up" as I think I am). I think that's because it's in a different circle. The literature circle. And to top that off, the short story literature circle. Uh oh. Bad news for Kaila's star rating.
I just have a hard time with these things - literature and short stories. My favorite thing about reading is the worlds I get to explore. So to have those worlds be tiny, by definition, since the stories are short, does not get me going. Just when I feel like I have my feet under me and I'm interested - well shit, the story is over. And then the additional insult to have all those worlds be our world. Well! I for one am shocked and appalled.
It's no surprise to me that the one story I really enjoyed took place on a spaceship.
I did enjoy the peculiar mundanity of these stories. They were all magical and yet they all dealt with things like housekeeping, text messages, and broken marriages. Every story was chock full of ideas. There was a LOT going on in some of these, but they were just like Oh yeah that's my pocket dimension lol so anyway I gotta do this financial report.
I think Kelly Link remembers what it was like to be a teenage girl very, very well. I think I have tried to forget everything about being a teenager. If you still remember it, you might like this collection....more
Really didn't need 80 pages of talking to ART before any humans are introduced. ART ex machina, basically. Full of telling and not showing. Not very iReally didn't need 80 pages of talking to ART before any humans are introduced. ART ex machina, basically. Full of telling and not showing. Not very impressed with the series so far....more
This is another in the lineup from tordotcom publishing who appears to have cornered the market on novellas. I have read a few of them now and they haThis is another in the lineup from tordotcom publishing who appears to have cornered the market on novellas. I have read a few of them now and they have left me with It Was Just Okay feelings.
This was fine but based on the glowing reviews I was expecting a bit...more. I liked that Murderbot had social anxiety and kinda hated people, but the rest of the cast were never fully formed and there was certainly very little world building. In fact, there were some political aspects to the story that I did not understand, so basically the entire reason for the plot to move forward never made sense to me.
I'm sure there are novellas out there that I will love but so far tordotcom is not producing them for me....more
Super quick read that I wanted to go on. Absolutely love the concept and loved hearing about the various portal worlds. Unfortunately it was not long Super quick read that I wanted to go on. Absolutely love the concept and loved hearing about the various portal worlds. Unfortunately it was not long enough to love - there just wasn't enough here to make it meaningful.
My favorite throwaway line was about the spider queen mourning the loss of her daughter.
I think I will go on with the series, but I was under the impression it was done after 7 books and Goodreads has since informed me there is another planned trilogy to bring it up to 10 books total. So that's disappointing....more
I thought going into this it might be a 5-star book. I am so sad it did not get there for me. I could almost see it - the writing was beautiful and thI thought going into this it might be a 5-star book. I am so sad it did not get there for me. I could almost see it - the writing was beautiful and the imagery evocative. But the characters fell flat and the rapturous passages on the failings of the heart did not materialize into something meaningful. Another review put it as "intriguing but inconsistent" and that about sums it up for me. There were some truly awful things that happened but they were somehow not very impactful.
Loved the setting of Western Canada/the Pacific. Loved the creepy creatures. Could have used 100% more creepy creatures honestly. They stop featuring about halfway through and that was when I started losing interest....more
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